The Character of O-lan in Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth
Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth depicts the journey of a Chinese farmer and his family in the early twentieth century. It begins with the protagonist, Wang Lung, marrying a servant, O-lan, from a neighboring rich house. They start a family in their small country town, and endure grueling times, including droughts, floods, and war. Wang Lung and O-lan work as hard as horses to ensure their family's survival. The family's persistence finally prevails, and the land eventually produces great riches. O-lan plays a considerable role in the success of the family. Buck portrays O-lan as a resourceful and reliable woman.
O-lan is very knowledgeable and draws on past experiences. She is a skilled cook because she worked in the kitchens as slave. When O-lan first arrives at Wang Lung's house, she prepares a deliciously cooked meal. In response to Wang Lung's questions of her dexterity, she blandly replies, "'I have been kitchen slave since I went into the House of Hwang. There were meats at every meal'" (22). Wang Lung received many compliments from his family and friends for O-lan's dinner. She is familiar with the preparation many different kinds of food, such as corn cobs, meats, and other varied foods.
O-lan is an experienced beggar. This skill was used in a critical time. The family was forced to face many adversities during the drought. Wang-Lung and O-lan reluctantly decided to move to a southern city to escape starvation. O-lan used her childhood begging talents to assist the family in surviving the dilemmas of the city. She knew who to plead to, where to beg, and most importantly, taught the other children to beg.
Liang's main interests consist of movies, stories, tap-dancing, and imitating Shirley Temple. Wong-Suk buys her expensive, beautiful ribbon one day for her second hand tap shoes and Poh-Poh helps her tie them into fancy flowers. -- This is where we learn a bunch about Poh-Poh's childhood. She was born in China and so it was already too bad that she had be born a girl child. But further more she was sort of disfigured. Her forehead was sloppy and mis-shapen and immediately everyone told her mother she was the ugliest baby ever. Her mother sold her to a wealthy family; where she was a servant. The concubine would beat her and their other servants with a rod-- as if they were oxen. Poh-Poh had to learn to do things quickly and flawlessly or she would be beaten. Her fingers would bleed because she was practicing tying these intricet(abc?) patterns. She of course grew out of her 'deformity' and was quite a pretty lady.
The History that goes by through the course of this book is an odd combination of racism, social reform, and close mindedness. In Ruth’s upbringing the hardships of being a Jew in a Christian land is a prevalent part of how she grew up. She was feared by the dark skinned people, and shunned by the light skinned for being Jewish, leaving her all alone. Meanwhile, James grew up in a world where he was hated for being black, and confused as to who he was, was he black or was he white. These struggles took place during the time of both the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. Ruth McBride even stays in Bronx in the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. James McBride grew to have his very own brothers and sisters becoming civil rights activists. One of his siblings even became a Black Panther, a black power party. It exemplifies the struggles in his life by bringing that very same struggle to someone whom he saw every day.
The two essays “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “A Plague of Tics” by David Sedaris are excellent pieces of work that share many similarities. This paper would reflect on these similarities particularly in terms of the author, message and the targeted audience. On an everyday basis, people view those with disabilities in a different light and make them conscious at every step. This may be done without a conscious realisation but then it is probably human nature to observe and notice things that deviate from the normal in a society. In a way people are conditioned to look negatively at those individuals who are different in the conventional
Ruth led a life broken in two. Her later life consists of the large family she creates with the two men she marries, and her awkwardness of living between two racial cultures. She kept her earlier life a secret from her children, for she did not wish to revisit her past by explaining her precedent years. Once he uncovered Ruth's earlier life, James could define his identity by the truth of Ruth's pain, through the relations she left behind and then by the experiences James endured within the family she created. As her son, James could not truly understand himself until he uncovered the truth within the halves of his mother's life, thus completing the mold of his own identity.
"Good Country People", by Flannery O’Connor, presents us with a look into the monotonous lives of three women living together on a rural farm. All three women are set in their old-fashioned ways, having experienced very little of life, out on the farm. A bible salesman named Manley Pointer, appearing like nothing more than simple, "good country people"(1), pays them a visit one day. It turns out that this simple countryboy is actually a brilliant con artist who scams the pretentious daughter, Hulga (also known as Joy) into removing her wooden leg, which he proceeds to steal. A great change in Hulga is triggered by her experience with Manley Pointer. Although it was a cruel scam, the bible salesman helps her to see the truth about her education and human nature. Hulga realizes that in addition to book smarts, people skills are also crucial in navigating the real world.
...the show Ruth discovers that she is pregnant, and because of her economic hardships, she is determining whether or not to keep the baby. This puts her stress level higher than ever. Ruth also starts off the show as a wife who doesn’t believe in Walter’s dream of owning a liquor store, But in the end, Ruth decides to keep the child and finds hope for her, Walter and the Younger family.
Throughout the history of literature, several narrative elements become prevalent in order to effectively create an appropriate literary framework unerring to each contributing piece. In various cases, setting often marks a considerable plot drive. The two individual pieces, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, appear entirely unrelated on the surface; however, they share an undeniable thematic parallel- the innumerable facets that setting encompasses often prompts individuals to persist in a specific manner impartial to their well being. Whether fighting for life in the desolate ocean, or vulnerably anticipating death, surrounded by the seemingly endless woodlands, characters must learn to adapt to their given circumstances. As leading protagonists, Pi and the grandmother adjust to their environments and process what remains to contend with, evolving accordingly for survival. Although in Pi’s situation he battles physically, both he and the grandmother emotionally confront their hardships, coping with both inward battles and personal seclusion. Their minds create an imaginative world which they utilize as a form of protection.
O-lan said many significant things that showed her to be the modest woman she was. She was a very quiet woman. Though she spoke very few words, they meant so much. In the first part of the book, when the Ancient One asked O-lan if she was ready to head into the world with this stranger, answering in her "not loud, not soft, plain, and not ill-tempered" voice, she says, "ready" (17). Many times, O-lan is fearful of speaking. When it is the first time taking hot water to the old man, she tells Wang Lung fearfully, "'I took no tea to the Old One-I did as you said-but to you I . . .'" (27). O-lan listens well to Wang Lung, but fears that she is not doing her jobs correctly. O-lan's timidity when she first gets married is only natural for her situation. At the b...
Wang Lung needs a wife so saves up the little money he has and buys a woman who is a slave named O-lan. O-lan is sold to Wang Lung so she can take care of the home, cooking and bear children. Wang Lung is disappointed when he first sees O-lan because she does not have bound feet which was a desirable quality at that time but he does enjoy when O-lan has the food ready when he comes in a night from the land. Wang Lung is very proud when O-lan makes cakes that no one else in the village knows how to makes and when his family comes to feast for the new year at their house.
Originally the narrator admired her father greatly, mirroring his every move: “I walked proudly, stretching my legs to match his steps. I was overjoyed when my feet kept time with his, right, then left, then right, and we walked like a single unit”(329). The narrator’s love for her father and admiration for him was described mainly through their experiences together in the kitchen. Food was a way that the father was able to maintain Malaysian culture that he loved so dearly, while also passing some of those traits on to his daughter. It is a major theme of the story. The afternoon cooking show, “Wok with Yan” (329) provided a showed the close relationship father and daughter had because of food. Her father doing tricks with orange peels was yet another example of the power that food had in keeping them so close, in a foreign country. Rice was the feature food that was given the most attention by the narrator. The narrator’s father washed and rinsed the rice thoroughly, dealing with any imperfection to create a pure authentic dish. He used time in the kitchen as a way to teach his daughter about the culture. Although the narrator paid close attention to her father’s tendencies, she was never able to prepare the rice with the patience and care that her father
The novel, The Color of Water follows the author and narrator James McBride, and his mother Ruth’s life. It explores their childhood—when they were both embarrassed by their mothers—through the part of their lives where they began to accept themselves for who they are. Moreover, this memoir is quite distinctive as McBride cleverly parallels his story to his mother, Ruth’s story using dual narration. This technique further helps contribute to the theme of self-identity. Throughout the novel, McBride searches for identity and a sense of belonging that derives from his multiracial family. By using two different narrations, McBride gradually establishes his identity and by integrating both narratives at the end, McBride also shows that although both narrators at the beginning had different upbringings, in the end they came together, and understood each other’s perspective.
Celie is a skinny, dark-skinned black woman with a wide smile. Her clothes fit her frame like a child, largely proportioned to hide any womanly features (waistline, hips, or breast). Another means of keeping her easier to dominate is by keeping her childish and treating her like one of the children.
The two short stories, “The Princess of Nebraska” and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, depict the lives of two people under Chinese communist control, trapped by the social restraints of their society in search of individual salvation. In “Princess of Nebraska”, a young girl (Sasha) struggles to find internal purpose and satisfaction within her life, feeling that the restraints of communist control keep her from achieving the sense of self she desires. She believes the United States is the solution to gaining her individual freedom and fantasizes the recreation of her identity and life. Similarly, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” revolves around the same theme of social freedom vs the discovery of the individual self. Mr.Shi,
It could be said that in modern industrial society, Disability is still widely regarded as tragic individual failing, in which its “victims” require care, sympathy and medical diagnosis. Whilst medical science has served to improve and enhance the quality of life for many it could be argued that it has also led to further segregation and separation of many individuals. This could be caused by its insistence on labelling one as “sick”, “abnormal” or “mental”. Consequently, what this act of labelling and diagnosing has done, is enforce the societal view that a disability is an abnormality that requires treatment and that any of its “victims” should do what is required to be able to function in society as an able bodied individual.
If we analyse the story instead of the narrative perspective can we see that the main reason of Celie's insecurity is caused by the way she is treated by men. She is sexually abus...